It's love, this time it's love, my foolish heart
by FriendLey
Summary: AU where Pepper works at an art gallery and Tony keeps buying ugly paintings off of her. COMPLETE


**A/N: Title from Tony Bennett's My Foolish Heart.**

* * *

"Miss Potts?" asked the intern, knocking before entering Virginia's office. He was younger than most of the interns they hired, but he loved art and that was enough for Virginia. "I inventoried the crates that came in today but one of them contains a painting that isn't part of our list."

Virginia accepted the folder the intern handed her. It contained a detailed list of the artwork that came in to her art gallery every week including an image of what they looked like.

"All paintings are accounted for," the intern continued and then handed Miss Potts another piece of paper. "But this isn't supposed to be here."

Virginia studied the printed out picture of the said painting in question. The painting was… unique. It was a duck or maybe it was a bird, she couldn't really tell. If she slanted her head, it looked like a rabbit? But it was so grotesque and the orange and blue colors did nothing to help its case.

She raised a brow at the intern who said, "I know. It's hideous."

Virginia gave him a discouraging look, hoping she could stop him from forming judgments on paintings with just one glance.

"What? You were thinking it!" he laughed. Miss Potts never could insult a painting.

Virginia shook her head slowly. "No painting is ever hideous. It's just… I've never seen its kind before."

"That's because it's ugly!" the intern insisted, chuckling.

Miss Potts rolled her eyes good naturedly at him and then tasked him to move it to the storage room in the basement where they kept unlisted paintings until they could alert the proper channels and return them.

"Also, is it okay if I step out a little early?" the intern shoved his hands in his pocket, a little hesitant to ask. He hastily explained, "I have this lunch thing with my dad and his bosses."

"Of course! After you move the painting, you may go."

The intern gave her a boyish grin and said, "Thank you, Miss Potts."

With the intern gone, Virginia focused her attention back to the news she was reading when the intern interrupted her. The famous _Mad Titan _painting had been stolen in transit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday morning. Virginia gnawed at her bottom lip. She had been looking forward to seeing it on display in the museum. If the authorities never caught the ones who did it, it was most likely going to be sold in the black market and lost to the world.

There was a knock on the door and Bambi, Virginia's assistant, stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"The Stark guy is out there again," she wiggled her eyebrows at her boss and Virginia ignored the sudden warmth that rose to her cheeks. She shook her head at her assistant, both to dissuade her from whatever it was that she was going to say and also to get some heat back into her face. But the assistant went on, "Do I send him away or do I just give him your number so he can finally ask you out?"

Virginia wanted to wipe the teasing grin off Bambi's face. "He's here for the latest crate. That's all," said Virginia, rising to her feet and then rounding the table.

"He's been buying pieces off of you for weeks!" Bambi pointed out, "And they're not even beautiful pieces." That was true. Mr. Stark had been buying unique paintings off of Virginia since the first time they met. Once again, she could hear the intern in her head saying, "Translation: ugly paintings."

Virginia first met Mr. Stark at a gala a month ago. She had noticed the good looking man muttering to himself as he looked at all the paintings and couldn't help but be amused at how he was frowning in consternation at a painting by Drax. It was one of the latter's more philosophical paintings and it depicted a green-skinned woman.

"Drax's work giving you a hard time?" Virginia had asked him, deciding to help him out. He was wearing a three-piece designer suit which meant that he could be a possible patron if she charmed him well enough. The fact that he was more handsome up close sure was a bonus.

Mr. Stark fixed his brown eyes at her for a while before deciding to shrug. "Green just isn't my color." He leaned in close to her and whispered, "I'm more of a loud color type of guy. Y'know, red and gold. Elphaba here just doesn't cut it."

Virginia smiled wryly at him and took a step closer to the painting. "Her name's Gamora."

"Pardon?"

She cocked her head at the woman in the painting. "Elphaba? Her name's Gamora. Drax was probably high when he painted it but he recalled seeing a green woman getting pushed off a cliff hence the title _Why is Gamora?"_

"_Why is Gamora_ what?" Mr. Stark asked because just saying the title of the painting didn't help explain it. "_Why is Gamora_ being murdered?"

Virginia shrugged, giggling. "Who knows?"

Mr. Stark looked at the painting again, tilting his head. Then he said, "I'll take it."

Virginia's blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry it's not for sale. It's on loan from Drax's private collection. But if you would like to buy some other pieces, I'd be glad to escort you to the show room."

The corner of his lips quirked up and he said, smooth and loud enough for only her to hear, "Please."

Virginia motioned at him to follow her and they exchanged introductions as they walked along the hallway. She led Mr. Stark to the private show room where various art pieces where put up. He looked around, eyes scanning for something that popped out. He tore his eyes off a geometric painting and asked Virginia, "Do you have anything—"

"Gold and red and loud?" Virginia cut in, echoing his words back at him.

Mr. Stark chuckled. "It's like you read my mind."

"I have just the thing." Virginia turned the knob over another door. This time the paintings in the room were bold and bright. It looked like a vomit of colors and brush strokes. Mr. Stark found himself blinking his eyes every so often. He followed Virginia to the corner of the room where she showed him a garish portrait of what looked to be a pepper. It was spattered the flecks of gold paint, the vegetable swimming in bloody red waves.

Loud indeed.

Mr. Stark raised an inquisitive brow at her.

Virginia giggled. "You asked for it."

"It's hideous," he said bluntly.

She corrected him, "It's unique!"

Mr. Stark laughed. "I'll take it."

Virginia's eyes widened slightly. "You're serious?" She knew he had money by the way he dressed, but she wasn't expecting him to casually purchase a painting like one would say, 'I'm craving a coffee.' Usually, it took some subtle groveling and mind games on her part. "It's just that not a lot of people appreciate this kind of artwork and I really want to know if you're serious about your purchase and will cherish it for what it is."

Mr. Stark looked at her like she wasn't making any sense. "It's just a pepper. Besides, does it matter if I think it's awful? I still want to buy it."

"Of course it matters!" Virginia cried before she could stop herself. "Can you imagine painting something and knowing that the person who bought it isn't even storing it in the right place or taking care of it, giving it the attention it deserves? Art needs to be seen so that it can be appreciated and valued."

It was the reason she got an art degree and a Masters in Art Restoration, the reason why she worked as the director of this gallery. The paintings and photographs found here may not be hers, but she was responsible in shedding some light on them.

Art had always been a source of wonder for her. They depicted lives once lived and were glimpses to the inner workings of artists' mind. They were capable of evoking so much emotion in a single brush stroke or snapshot and they thrummed palpably with life. That was why Virginia didn't believe in there being _ugly _paintings; there were only unappreciated ones.

She knew a lot of people didn't feel the same way she did. That was fine. She didn't take offense if they called it ugly or hideous; they were entitled to their own opinions, but she drew the line at purchasing artwork only to have them collect dust in one's basement.

Mr. Stark looked at her, angling his head slightly at her impassioned outburst.

Virginia blushed. "I'm—I'm sorry. I don't usually discourage potential buyers from purchasing paintings." _Great_, she thought. _He's not going to buy it _now_. _

But instead of backing out, Mr. Stark's expression softened and he said, "Don't apologize. You care about art and you schooled an ignorant man. Tell you what, I was planning on putting this painting in my garage but instead, I'm going to put it up my living room wall where everyone who walks in my house can see it and talk about how ugly it is, and the parties I host will never be dull because of this pepper being the center of attention and driving every conversation in the room. It'll be like the rockstar among ugly paintings and I'm gonna do all that for this pepper, because even though it's ugly doesn't mean it doesn't have value." He put his palm up and genuinely swore, "It'll get its spotlight, that I promise you."

Virginia smiled at him, grateful for his candor. "Thank you. I'll go write up the invoice." They went to another room where Mr. Stark gave his details for delivery and settled the payment.

Handing him the receipt, Virginia said, "Here you go. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

He didn't reply and looked at her like he wanted to ask her something. Virginia was surprised to find herself hoping he'd ask her out. Since when did she want to return to the dating scene? Would she even say yes if he asked?

He didn't though, saving Virginia the trouble of answering that mental question. Instead, he said, "That will be all, Ms. _Pepper_ Potts." The nickname made her laugh. "Thank you very much."

He had been visiting every week and buying other paintings off of her ever since.

The memory of their first meeting went through Virginia's head in a matter of seconds and Bambi continued, "Unless he's blind, he just wants to have an excuse to see you. And if I were you, I'd go out there, grab him by his Armani shirt, kiss him square on the lips, let that soft looking goatee—" Virginia playfully slapped her assistant on the arm, cutting off her very _visual _fantasies. Bambi ignored her, saying, "A beautiful rich man like him doesn't come knocking very often."

Virginia rolled her eyes. "I told you. I'm done dating." But she knew as soon as she said it that it was a lie. She had been ready to date again for a month now.

"Don't let that lying cheater of an ex of yours ruin your life. This guy isn't like that."

"How would you know?" Virginia said, raising a critical brow. "Beyond the fact that he's clearly rich and has a good sense of fashion, we know nothing about him."

"The fact that he's buying ugly ass paintings just to see you isn't proof enough?"

Virginia shook her head. "Stop that. He's just a loyal customer and I'm going to go out there and entertain him."

"Entertain," Bambi wagged her finger at Virginia, grinning. "I like the sound of that. It's lunch time. You can go get coffee. I'll hold down the fort."

"You're impossible." Virginia walked out, determined to keep a clear head.

Mr. Stark stood up from his seat in the waiting area upon seeing her.

Bambi may be _impossible _but she didn't lie. He was beautiful.

"You're early, Mr. Stark," Virginia said, teasing him a little. It was something that had come out of their weekly transactions; he'd come in, buy paintings, and they'd exchange a little banter and subtle flirtations here and there. "Our exhibit isn't until tomorrow."

"Thought I'd check out the goods before the competition comes."

Virginia invited him into her office and they took their usual places on the couch. She handed him the printed out file which contained the list of paintings to be included in tomorrow's exhibit. "I've taken the liberty to compile a few suggestions for you to completely ignore."

Every week she gave him a suggested portfolio of paintings she thought he would like, but he always ignored them and went with the same "hideous" paintings. She didn't understand what he did with all the paintings he bought. Did he have a personal gallery? Did he gift them to people? Put them up his wall? But no one could possibly need that much paintings in one's house.

Bambi's earlier words, despite being meant to tease her, flitted in her mind. What if he did buy all these paintings just so he could see her every week? But if he wanted to see her, why not just ask her out?

What if he was hesitant just like she was? Had someone broken his heart before?

Curiosity finally won and before Virginia could stop herself (she chalked it off to Bambi's unasked pre-game pep talk), she boldly said, "Mr. Stark, how many more paintings are you going to buy before you finally ask me out?"

Mr. Stark paused, his hand stilling. He slowly lowered the file to his lap and then looked up at Virginia. If she wasn't mistaken, he looked a little sheepish at the fact that he got caught. "You noticed, huh?"

Bambi was right! Virginia tried not to look too surprised. "My assistant noticed and brought it to my attention like a nosey assistant does. But in hindsight, I should've been suspicious at the fourth outrageous painting. A person just doesn't need that much paintings."

They both laughed and she might be reading into this a little too much, but she swore he seemed nervous. Nervous, yes, but not hesitant when he said, "I have a question I've been meaning to ask you." She leaned slightly closer. "Yes?"

"Let's just say, if I asked you out… would you say yes?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you ask me out."

He chuckled and conceded with a slight tilt of his head. "Do you want to have lunch with me? Not now. I have a prior engagement now but… tomorrow?"

This would be the first date she's had since she broke it off with her asshole of an ex. She inhaled. "Okay."

"Yeah?"

"I figured I'd help relieve your bank account."

"Cool." He winced at the word and tried not to flush red as Virginia giggled.

"I won't be needing this anymore then." Mr. Stark tossed the file on the coffee table in front of them. "Thank _God _because frankly, my house is running out of room. I'll… pick you up tomorrow."

"Okay."

They rose at the same time. "Goodbye, Ms. Potts."

"Goodbye, Mr. Stark."

He scrunched up his face at the formalities. "We should probably stop with the formal titles, right?"

"Are you saying you want to call each other Potts and Stark?"

"I'm thinking Pepper and Tony."

Virginia immediately shook her head. "Not that again."

He grinned. "Yes, that again."

…

Despite the spring in his steps at having successfully scored a date, Tony couldn't help but think cringe at the interaction in Pepper's office.

_Cool? _He groaned. Peter was rubbing off on him.

But if it weren't for Peter, Tony wouldn't have met the enigmatic and passionate Ms. Potts in the first place. Tony had only gone to the art gallery because his son had bullied him into it.

"Dad, don't you ever get tired of the garage looking like a dorm room?" Peter had asked him.

Tony looked up from the parts he was working on, the microscopic glasses he had on made his eyes look big and bug-ish. The bug eyes blinked. "Excuse me?"

Peter backtracked. "No offense."

"I'm sensing more of a full offense on this. Or what is it you kids call it now? Yes offense?"

Tony slipped the glasses off. "What is it about the rock band posters that don't agree with you? Remember, they're the reason for all the magic that goes on in here. It's an homage, putting them up." He took a moment to appreciate the posters on his garage wall. What did Peter have against AC/DC and Led Zeppelin?

"It doesn't... It's not that—" Peter sighed. "Would you at least consider buying some paintings to make this place less... dorm roomy?"

He handed Tony a brochure on an art exhibit and that was how Tony ended up in the art gallery, desperately looking at paintings so he can prove to his son that his workshop was not a dorm room and he actually had taste in art.

Except he met Virginia Potts and Tony kept buying hideous paintings instead. Peter had been under the impression his dad bought the paintings to get back at him for calling his workshop a dorm room and Tony never told him it was all an excuse so he could see Virginia Potts every other week.

He didn't know why it had taken him this long to ask her out. It was never an issue before.

_Oh, right. _

He didn't have Peter to think about before.

Before, he had lived on one-night-stands and Peter had been a product of that. Thank God Mary Parker was a good friend and it wasn't awkward when they decided to co-parent Peter together. It was even a little bit—dare he say it a second time—_cool _that she was fine with him continuing his bachelor ways.

But ever since Mary died five years ago, Tony had stopped sleeping around altogether. With a very impressionable son Peter was ten at the time and was fifteen now. He would argue he's not impressionable while Tony would disagree), Tony had been careful about the women he dated. He wanted Peter to like them, not tolerate them.

He hoped Peter wouldn't mind Pepper.

His phone alerted him to a message from Peter asking him where he was. Tony replied and turned his thoughts away from the date.

…

Tony and Pepper went on numerous dates, the first one being to Delmar's Deli-Grocery where Tony introduced her to Delmar and the best sandwiches in Queens.

They took their sandwiches to go and ate it at a nearby park where Pepper found out that Tony was an engineer who had robots in his garage.

"Was the Pepper painting that you purchased originally for your robots?" Pepper asked, recalling that he initially wanted to put the painting there.

"Sort of," Tony said, avoiding talking about Peter. He didn't know this woman well enough to trust her with information about his son yet.

They talked of other stuff like the recently stolen _Mad Titan (_Pepper told him all about how it was a really wonderful work of art, three hundred years old. She's been dying to see it since she was in college and now she mourned that she never will.) and their hobbies.

"When I'm not working in my office, I'm usually in the basement, restoring old paintings."

"What a coincidence!" Tony said, eyes brightening at his discovery. "Me too!"

"You restore old paintings?"

"No. I restore old cars for fun."

Pepper laughed and they exchanged stories about it.

As they commuted back to the gallery, Pepper asked Tony, "Why did it take you so long to ask me out?"

Tony thought about it, considered telling her about the son he had but eventually went with, "Let's just say, I've been hesitant to enter into relationships knowing they can hurt you and the people you care about."

Pepper understood that more than Tony knew. "My ex cheated on me."

Tony frowned. "I'm so sorry."

"The only person who should be apologizing is him." She said with a thin smile. "I dumped him and I swore off dating for months. Until I met you and I... started to think I was ready to be happy again. If you hadn't actually asked me out,_ I_ probably would have. "

"You mean, I should've held out longer?"

Pepper laughed.

Tony brought her back to the gallery where he told her he'd come again tonight for the exhibit. "Just because I'm not buying any more paintings doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed looking at them with you."

Pepper blushed and waved goodbye.

Tony didn't kiss her before he left (he would be taking his time with her and do this properly) but he did ask her out again that night.

Their second date was two days later and it was an afternoon stroll which ended up with them eating churros and then going to a pottery class.

"What'd you think?" Pepper raised what looked to be a saucer. "Think you'd like to drink soup off of it?"

"That's a bowl? You better stick to paintings, Potts."

"Like yours is any better!" She pointed at his misshapen blob. "What is that supposed to be?"

Tony lifted his chin up. "It's abstract."

She snorted. "I think that's a vase that you ruined and so you called it abstract to save face."

Tony gave his work a once-over. "Damn, you're good."

After, Tony offered to bring her home but Pepper declined saying, "In case you turn out to be a serial killer, I don't want you knowing where I live." She grinned. "The gallery is fine."

Tony laughed. "Alright, alright. But just so you know, I think it's really unfair that you know where_ I_ live but I don't know where you live."

"I practically live in the gallery's basement, anyway, surrounded by paintings made by long dead people. I told you! It's my bat-cave."

Tony marveled at this woman. "A woman after my own heart." He couldn't remember the last time he met a woman who liked staying in the basement as much as Tony did.

He waved goodbye and made her promise to call him as soon as she was safely home. "Just so that I know a serial killer didn't get to you," he said.

Back at his own home, Tony's son noticed the grin on his dad's face when the latter got a text message.

Peter eyed him from across the dining table. "Did you just smile? At your phone?"

Tony tried to look innocent and shook his head. "I love phones. You know, technology. It's my thing."

"Uh-huh." Peter had a knowing grin on his face that was frankly quite scary to see on a fifteen year-old. "I smiled at my phone too when MJ first texted. Dad, if you're seeing someone, that's fine. You don't have to hide it from me. In fact, I'd be happy for you."

Tony wasn't expecting that because his son was fifteen and weren't all teenagers disapproving of their parents having romantic lives?

"Really?" Tony glanced at his phone then at his son. Peter nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm seeing someone."

"What's her name?"

"Um… Pepper." Tony shook his head. "Obviously that's not her real name but I call her that."

Peter narrowed his eyes, thinking the name a strange one. "And she likes it?"

"Not at first. But she's made her peace with it."

"What's she like?"

Tony tried to think of a way to describe Virginia, her spirit, her passion. In the end, he said, "She's… not like your mom."

"You mean, she isn't a scientist."

"Yeah. She leans more on the artsy type. Which is actually kind of adorable how much she cares about the arts. She _is _like your mom in that way, I guess, that she's passionate and determined. We've only been on like two dates so it's nothing serious."

Peter smiled at the moony expression on his dad's face. His dad has had girlfriends before but Peter never saw him look like _that. _Peter rather thought that this _was_ serious. "Am I ever gonna meet her?"

"Uhhh..."

"She doesn't know about me, does she?"

"No," Tony admitted.

Peter nodded, not a lot of people knew about him being Tony Stark's son. It was for the former's own good anyway. Can't have a repeat of the last time he almost got kidnapped. "Good decision. You might scare her off."

Tony shook his head and explained, "No, it's not that. You know I'm just trying to protect you."

Peter grinned. "I was only kidding. I know all about the things you do to keep me safe."

"But not just that, Pete. I don't want you getting hurt. If you meet her and you get attached and things don't work out between her and me… I'm waiting for things to get serious before I tell her about you."

Peter nodded slowly. "Cool cool cool cool cool cool. No doubt, no doubt."

Tony laughed. "You're watching way too much Brooklyn Nine Nine."

"There is no such thing as too much Brooklyn Nine Nine, Dad."

On their third date, Tony and Pepper went to a race kart track and got milkshakes like one of the teenagers in the ice cream salon they were in.

Pepper had tied her hair up in a messy ponytail and her face was still flushed from the exhilarating drive while Tony's hair looked like a bird's nest. He messed it up further, hoping it'd made him look at least a little endearing but he had a feeling he looked like Peter did when the kid got out of bed, strands of hair sticking out at every possible angle.

Their order of fries and burgers came and their milkshakes were momentarily forgotten in favor of a more filling meal.

When Tony brought Pepper back to the gallery, she noted that he put a respectful distance between them as he said goodbye, making sure she couldn't kiss him and neither did he make a move to do so.

She wondered if he didn't like her that much but chalked it up to him wanting to take things slow, which she highly appreciated.

...

Pepper took Tony to a walk-in painting class one day. They had been seeing each other for two weeks now.

Putting on their aprons, Tony glanced around warily like the paintbrushes were going to attack him. "I don't really paint."

Pepper took his arm and led him to an empty table, saying, "You said that about pottery too."

"And did you remember how that turned out? My vase leaks water!"

Pepper giggled. "But you're an engineer! Isn't drawing up schematics or blueprints really any different from painting?"

"Touché," he said.

When the class began, the art instructor had the students crawl under the table.

"Is this an earthquake drill?" asked Tony, going down on his knees, narrowly avoiding a paintbrush and palette near one of the table's legs.

"Hush."

"Everyone, lie on your backs," instructed the teacher. The students all did as they were told with Tony once again sending Pepper weird looks.

She smiled. "Just go with it."

There was a wide piece of paper stuck underneath the table and Tony wondered for the 3rd time at what today's activity was.

Thankfully, the instructor chose to explain at that moment. "Today, we will be painting the backside of the table so that we may get a glimpse of what it was like for Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Art materials are under the table. You have one hour to paint whatever you like. Your time begins now."

"Okay, this isn't that bad. It's like working underneath a car," said Tony, grabbing a paintbrush. "What are you gonna paint?"

"You."

Tony blinked. "Wow. Then I guess I have to draw you too. I have to warn you, though, my painting skills are shit."

"Let me decide that for myself."

They worked for the first half hour, their elbows touching every so often and paint dripping down on Tony's apron (cause he used too much). Tony kept sneaking glances at Virginia's work and said, "I think you should lift my cheeks a little. I've always wanted to have them done."

Pepper elbowed him and looked at his painting. He had drawn red peppers instead of her actual face.

"What do you think, Pep? I think I got your nose right."

Pepper sent him a look but ended up snorting in laughter because there were flecks of paint on his face.

He frowned at her. "What?"

"You have paint on your face."

Tony made a show of touching his face but purposefully got some more paint on his cheek. "Did I get it?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at the moves he was busting. She knew he was hoping she'd wipe it off and maybe she didn't mind that at all. She inched closer to him and brought a thumb on his cheek, swiping the paint away. She didn't draw her hand back and instead cupped his cheek.

Tony's eyes darted to her mouth and Pepper chose to lean in, closing the gap.

They had their first kiss there, underneath the table and below unfinished paintings. It wasn't the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel but it served its purpose.

It's been two weeks since they started going out but they only had their first kiss now (unheard of for Tony Stark, but he told himself he would take it slow and damn, it was worth it). It was like a culmination of all the other times they could've kissed but didn't.

Pepper was gripping his apron now, not bothering that paint was on her hands. She moved them up to his hair, threading her fingers through it and getting paint on it but Tony found that he didn't care.

It was at that moment he knew what he had to do.

When they broke apart, he whispered, "Come have dinner with me tomorrow night."

"Dinner?" Pepper repeated but couldn't say more because he began kissing her jaw. Bambi was right. His goatee felt wonderfully soft and not scratchy.

Tony found her mouth again and kissed her. "My place." Kiss. "Just dinner." Another kiss. "And wine." _And my son, _Tony wanted to say but held it back. There would be time to introduce them tomorrow. "Please say yes."

Dinner and wine in someone else's house usually meant something else would happen right after and Virginia wondered if she was ready for that again. Her body was ready, God, it had been a while, but was _she?_

She told herself that this was a good thing. A happy thing. She deserved this.

Screw her ex.

"Yes," Pepper sighed into his mouth.

…

"Hey!" Tony kissed her in greeting (Pepper was getting quite used to his kisses; she rather liked them) and invited her inside his house. She showed him the bottle of wine she brought.

"I brought this." She knew he probably already had wine prepared but she always made it a habit to bring something whenever she visited someone's home.

"Thanks!"

"Your house is beautiful," Pepper said, looking around. The pepper painting was staring straight at her too. "I see you kept your promise."

Tony followed her gaze. "Yep. I made sure it was the first thing my guests can see. And if you make your way further inside, you'll also see the other paintings I bought off you." He was wearing an apron and said, "I'm just finishing something in the kitchen which I hope is edible." Against Peter's advice, Tony had wanted to do something personal like make dinner because revealing Peter, letting Pepper know about him, meet him—that was personal for Tony. "But in case what I make isn't all that good—"

"I'm sure it tastes great," Pepper assured him.

Tony gave her a deadpan look. "Please refrain from casting judgement until you've tasted my cooking." She laughed. "Anyway, in case it isn't, I also ordered some take-out and they're on their way. Feel free to make yourself at home. And, uh, I'll be right back."

He left her in the living room and Pepper decided to look around. Strangely enough, the paintings Tony had purchased from her looked right at home where they were.

Pepper lingered next to a table where Tony put up his photographs. There was one of an older couple, his parents probably, and another of Tony and what must be his father working on a car. He must've gotten his skills from his dad, she thought.

The next photo was a baby picture and Pepper wondered if this was Tony's. The photo beside it made her do a double take; she took the picture frame in her hands to get a closer look.

The photo was a picture of a familiar teenager, a boy Pepper saw at work every day. He liked taking photographs and sometimes asked if he could have them up in the exhibit at the gallery. This boy was her intern, Peter Parker. What was his photo doing in Tony's house?

She put the frame back and looked at the next photograph. It was of Tony, an adolescent Peter, and a woman smiling while they were at a beach.

_A family picture, _she thought, the beginnings of dread settling in her stomach.

She looked at the other photos and sure enough, there was one of Tony and the woman in a lab, another of her and Peter.

_He has a wife. _ "A wife and a son," she whispered to herself_, _feeling a little sick at having said that out loud. It was like she was free-falling down a long bottomless hole she had been in only once before. _Oh, God. He may not be cheating on me but he was cheating on someone _with _me. _She shut her eyes like that would help quell the rising nausea. "You're such an idiot!"

At the sound of someone's footsteps, Pepper turned, her face flushed with anger.

"So, dinner's almost ready. I—" Tony studied her, forehead creasing with worry. "Are you okay? You look a little… red."

Pepper clutched her bag tightly and chose her words carefully. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Tony only stared at her, blank faced. "Were you laughing behind my back when I told you my ex had cheated on me? Poor Pepper she's never gonna know."

"I'm not following. What are you talking about?"

"_I'm_ the idiot here, okay, not you. Playing dumb doesn't suit you. I fell for your whole I'm-hesitant-to-start-a-relationship act!" Pepper grabbed the family photo and showed it to him. "If you wanted to have an affair and make me into the _other woman_, you could have at least tried to hide the pictures of your wife before I got here. And now _I'm _the homewrecker."

Tony continued to pretend as if he didn't know what she was talking which infuriated Pepper more. "My wife?" He looked at the picture and realized what it was.

"Yeah, your wife. Tell me is she here? Does she know? Do you two have some sort of arrangement where you guys are in open relationships or you just like committing adultery? God, I can't believe I let myself get into this _again._"

He started to shake his head now, much like how Pepper's ex did when she caught him red-handed.

Tony took a couple steps toward her. "Pepper, let me explain."

"Don't call me that!" She stepped back. "My name is Virginia, okay, and there's nothing you can say that will fix this!" She started for the front door. "I trusted you! I thought I could be happy with you!"

"I'm not married!" Tony cried.

Virginia scoffed. "Seriously? You can't even come up with a more convincing lie?" She opened the front door and said, "Leave me alone. Don't come into the gallery again. I don't want to see you anymore." She went out and Tony was about to rush after her but the sound of the smoke alarm stopped him.

"Damn it!"

…

Tony was cleaning up what was left of the mess in the kitchen when he heard the front door open again.

He ran out quickly only to find Peter. He sighed in disappointment.

"Great to see you too, Dad," Peter said sarcastically.

Tony deflated, shaking his head. "No, no. I just thought you were Pepper."

"She didn't come yet?" Peter dropped his backpack and instrument case to the floor. "I thought she'd be here by now."

"She was. And then she left."

Peter noticed the look on his dad's face. "What happened?"

Tony ran a hand over his jaw as he exhaled. "She saw the photos of your mom and thought I was cheating on your mom with her."

"Oh. That's bad." Tony nodded. Peter looked up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, you didn't stop her?"

"Unmute," said Tony.

"May I just say, Sir, that if you had not muted me, things would have gone differently." His AI sounded smug but Tony didn't even remember programming that particular mode.

"Yeah? Not everybody thinks hearing a disembodied voice is normal, J."

Peter offered another solution. "What if you call her and explain?"

"I tried, okay? She blocked my number and I don't want to hack it because I don't think she'd appreciate that." He sighed once more. "I figured I'd give her some space, let her cool down, and them I'm gonna go talk to her tomorrow."

Peter touched his dad's arm in a way that was meant to be comforting but made Tony feel really pitiful. "I'm really sorry, Dad. I was really looking forward to meeting her. I could tell you really liked her. I mean, you cooked and everything."

Tony smiled at his son. "Thanks, Pete. I'm just gonna clean up in the kitchen."

Despite the general mood, Peter fixed a smirk on his face. "You burned dinner, didn't you?"

"In my defense, she was accusing me of adultery at the time."

…

There was a commotion right outside her office and Virginia heard Tony's voice followed by Bambi's raised one.

She went over to her door and pressed her ear to listen.

"It was _my _idea for her to go and date you," Bambi was saying, "and now you broke her heart, so it'll be _my _job to kick you out of here too!"

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to—Ow! I just want to explain! Let me talk to her, please."

"No."

"Bambi, it's fine."

Both Bambi and Tony turned to look at Virginia who had stepped out of her office. She folded her hands over her chest and walked over to them.

"Ms. Potts, I could call Security—"

"That won't be necessary. Thank you, Bambi. Could you please check on Andrew downstairs? He's arranging the photographs." Bambi shot Tony a dirty look before leaving.

As soon as Bambi was out of earshot, Tony immediately began apologizing. "Pepper, I swear, it's all a misunderstanding."

"Don't," she began, voice hardened into somewhat of a growl, "call me that."

"Virginia, I—"

"The only reason I'm even talking to you right now is because I want you to know that I'm going to tell your son about what I did to his mother. And I'm going to apologize and I thought you should know beforehand. 'Cause I'm not like you."

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not married?"

"Are you divorced?"

"No, she's—" Before Tony could say more, the door swung open and his son walked in with two men trailing behind him.

"Miss Potts, there are two guys here asking about—" Peter spotted his father and looked taken aback. "Dad? What are you doing here?" He looked at Tony and then at Miss Potts. "What's going on?"

Virginia took a deep breath. She had been avoiding Peter since she came in this morning and had holed herself up in her office, thinking of the best way to break it to him. And now that he was right in front of her, she didn't know what to say. How does one even behave towards the son of the married guy you were seeing?

Tony cleared his throat, glancing awkwardly between his son and Pepper. "I'm here to talk to Miss Potts."

"Are you the boss?" the first man asked Virginia.

Virginia nodded, grateful for the interruption. "Yes, how may I help you two?"

"But you were supposed to go and talk to Pepper," said Peter, cutting off the visitors.

"Yeah. About that," Tony glanced at Virginia. "This is Pepper. I was gonna tell you last night, but then _last night_ happened."

Virginia looked back at Tony, momentarily forgetting her guests. Her eyebrows knit together. "You told your son about me?" What kind of father would tell his son about his mistress?

The second man raised his hand. "Excuse me, could we just know where—"

Peter held a finger up, silencing him. "Hold on a minute. You've been dating my boss?" Peter was shaking his head, like he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. "How did you two even meet?"

"Remember when you told me to buy some paintings to replace the band posters?"

Peter's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, my God."

Man Number Two tried again. He raised his voice and said, "We're looking for a painting—"

"So was I," said Tony, pointing at him. "My son wanted me to get paintings for the house and I bought ugly paintings off of Miss Potts here and then and then and _then _I couldn't stop buying the paintings instead of asking her out. I was a little hesitant—"

"Because he's married," Virginia finished, going over to her intern. Might as well rip the band aid off, she thought. "Peter, I'm so sorry. I didn't know about your parents. If I had known, I never would've dated your dad. That doesn't justify what I did and I'm not trying to replace your mom or ruin their marriage—"

Peter sent her a bewildered look. "My dad's not married."

Man Number One rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Virginia ignored him and said, "Peter, it's nice that you're trying to cover up for him but—"

"Everyone shut up!" cried Number One, raising a gun at them. His companion followed suit.

"Whoa!" Tony grabbed Peter and Virginia and pulled them behind him. "Alright. Everyone be cool. You can put the guns down."

"How did that even get past security?" asked Virginia.

"We're just trying to resolve a family issue here!" Tony said.

"And we're just trying to look for a painting," said Number Two, pocketing his gun but Number One kept it trained at them. "You might have seen it. Ugly, real ugly."

"Do you remember what it looked like?" Number One asked Number Two. "Sort of like a bright ugly painting, right?" He turned to the trio. "Have you seen something like that?"

All three of them nodded.

"I currently have a collection of ugly paintings in my house."

"In your house?" repeated Number One. "You're the one that bought the ugly paintings off the boss here?"

Number Two pulled Number One aside and hissed, "You said art galleries don't sell unlisted paintings. It's got to be here."

Virginia's ears perked at the mention of unlisted paintings. They had gotten one two weeks ago and it was still in storage downstairs. Was that what they were after?

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," Virginia said from behind Tony. "You guys are looking for unlisted paintings?"

Number Two eyed her and said, "Where'd you keep 'em?"

"We received an ugly unlisted painting last week. Right, Peter?" She turned back and nodded encouragingly at Peter. If she gave them what they wanted, maybe they would leave. And they could all get away with their lives intact and she could go on getting mad at Tony.

"Y-yeah," squeaked the teenager, "like orange and blue, looked like Nick Jr. Really gross. I put it in the basement."

"But didn't I buy that painting?" Tony quickly cut in. Virginia frowned at him. What was he doing? "You sold it to me, remember?" He nodded when Virginia slowly shook her head, not following. "I saw it in the basement and I wanted the really ugly one 'cause you know I like the horrifying ones, right? _Right?_" He widened his eyes at her, hoping she'd play along.

Virginia started to nod and she said, "Right! I forgot! I remember cause you told me it looked like a duck and I said it looked like a rabbit."

"Exactly!" Tony turned to the men. "It's with me. At my place."

Number One pointed his gun at Tony this time. "Address. Now."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Dad!"

"Tony!"

"I mean, I can't just tell you the address. Look, you need my handprint to get inside my house, okay?"

Number One groaned and started for Tony's hand. "Or I could just cut it off."

"No!" said Number Two, holding his friend back. "We won't be harming anybody. He'll have to come with us."

"No!" said Peter, clutching his dad's hand. "I'm not leaving my dad!"

"Fine. Then we'll bring the whole family," spat Number One. He waved the gun at the three of them and said, "Any funny business and I'll blow the kid's brains off."

"Hey, you shoot my kid and I'll burn my handprints off and then blow you up, d'you hear?" But it was an empty threat and they all knew it.

With Number One behind them, Virginia, Peter, and Tony followed Number Two down to the garage where the latter's car was parked.

"Tony, what are you planning?" Virginia whispered.

"Trust me," he hissed.

They climbed into the backseat with Virginia sitting between Tony and Peter. Tony gave them his home address and Number Two drove while Number One had the gun pointed at them throughout the whole ride.

On the way to Tony's house, Virginia said to him, still irked, "I can't believe we're going to bring these people into your house! I really hope your wife's not home. She's already going to hate me for—"

"For the last time, I'm not married!" cried Tony, reaching the end of his rope because honestly, he did nothing wrong. He was only trying to apologize but what did he get in return? A gun pointed at his face. And now he's doing this thing where he's going to save his son and the woman he really liked but Virginia still hated him.

Number One rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"And cheaters lie."

"My dad's not lying. He really isn't married," said Peter, "My mom's dead."

Virginia faltered. "What?" She looked back and forth from Tony and Peter.

It was Peter who answered, "She died five years ago in a plane crash."

Well _that _was not at all what Virginia expected. She expected the "it's my sister" line or a "a close friend" excuse. But dead mom was new.

"I'm so sorry," said Virginia because really, what else do you say when someone says their mother died and you accused their father of adultery?

"I guess my dad didn't tell you about her because…" Peter leaned over to look at his dad. "I get why you didn't tell her about me, but why didn't you tell her about mom?"

Tony turned to Virginia, "Look, it was just a casual thing between his mom and me, and we had Peter. We decided to raise him together as friends, that's it. I didn't tell you because it didn't seem important."

"Why wouldn't you tell me about your not-wife and your son? That's the sort of thing that comes up during the first date!"

"Or the second," said Number One.

All three of them stared at him.

"Do you mind?" Tony asked, annoyed. "This is a private conversation."

The man only grunted and continued pointing the gun.

Tony leaned back against the seat and continued, "I was going to make you dinner and tell you last night! I even told Peter to come home early and shower because I was going to introduce the two of you but he didn't even arrive on time—"

"I had band practice! I told you every Friday we—"

"Never mind," Tony shook his head at his son. To Virginia he said, "Look, I didn't tell you about Peter because I was trying to protect him."

"From what? From these guys? Tony, they're after a painting not Peter."

Peter came to his dad's defense. "My last name is Parker for a reason. Someone really close to my dad tried to kidnap me when I was younger so I use my mom's surname and dad doesn't really go around declaring he has a son. People could still be after me."

It was then Virginia realized that she really knew nothing about Tony Stark. Sure, they went on dates. She knew he liked cheeseburgers and how he spent his free time. She knew what he did for a living, knew he was well off, but beyond that? Nothing. "Why would people be after you?"

"Because I'm Tony Stark's son," Peter said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But Virginia only stared like she was waiting for more details. "And?"

Peter and Tony exchanged looks. Apparently Virginia didn't know who Tony was. Neither did their kidnappers because Number One looked just as stumped as Virginia.

"Stark as in Stark Industries. Ring any bells?" said Tony.

"I'm guessing that's a company," said Virginia.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, you really do live in a cave."

"Hey! I just don't bother with other news. What I read about is mostly art. Like a few weeks ago, the famed _Mad Titan _got stolen from the—" Virginia gasped and she fixed her eyes on Number One. "Why are you after the painting? Why would you kill for it? I saw it. It didn't have any value… Unless... Unless it does."

Number One glowered at her. "Shut up."

But Virginia continued. She was on to something here and she tried to speak through the racing of her heart. "It's not just any painting is it? Is there a painting underneath it? Is it the _Mad Titan? _Did you steal it and hide it in my gallery, hoping you can then steal it back?"

"Shut. Up," Number One grit through clenched teeth which Virginia took to be confirmation.

"Oh my God. The _Mad Titan_ has been under my nose this whole time!"

The man cocked his gun and Tony intervened. "Okay, Pepper, I think he means it this time. She'll shut up. She's just fangirling." He hissed at her, "Really not the time, Potts."

"I can't help it! I'm gonna die in an art heist!" She was half-panicking, half-fangirling at this point because this stuff only happened in movies but also _ohmygodohmygod I'm gonna die for a painting_ kept repeating over and over in her head.

Number One motioned at Tony using his gun. "You make her shut up or I'll do it for you."

"Potts, don't make me kiss you in front of our kidnappers and my son."

"Ew," said Peter.

Virginia huffed but stayed silent the whole trip, wringing her hands in trepidation. The closer they got to the house, the more jumpy she became.

When they finally reached Tony's house, Tony put his handprint on the door and they got in.

"Where is it?" Number Two asked, marching in the place.

"In the living room. Go nuts," replied Tony, keeping his eye on Number One who was watching them, gun still raised. You'd think the guy's arm would start to smart.

"Shouldn't you tie us up with zipties or something?" Peter asked, sticking close to his dad. "I mean, my dad could tackle you or grab a weapon." Number One raised a brow almost daring Tony to do it, to see if he could overpower him. "You really don't watch a lot of movies, huh?" Peter continued.

""Back against the wall," ordered Number One.

"You know, if my butler were here, which he isn't," said Tony, taking Peter and Virginia's hands as they did as they were told. "He would absolutely protect me, lock down the house, call the police. It's called Protocol 3000 or Only Protect Me When I'm Actually In Danger. But my butler isn't here, which is really a shame," he started to moved in direction of the kitchen.

"Your point is?"

"My point is, if my butler was still alive, which he isn't, he would be able to activate Protocol 3000 at my command. Do you want to know what the command is? It's kind of funny. I might have been drunk when I made it." They were past the wall and in the kitchen's threshold now. "It's… NOW JARVIS!"

Tony pulled Virginia and Peter back just as a steel wall slid down the threshold, separating them from the kidnappers.

Virginia shrieked, covering her face with her hands.

"It's alright. We're safe. They won't be able to get through that." Tony pulled Peter in his arms and inspected him. "Are you alright? God, I'm gonna make sure they go to prison and then I'm gonna _blow up _the prison. Obviously, I'm not gonna do that. I'm just kidding. I'm sorry, it took me so long to act. I couldn't take his gun in the car. I was scared he'd fire and he'd hit one of us."

"Dad, it's okay. I'm fine! It really wasn't that scary." Peter extracted himself from his father.

Tony turned to Virginia next and moved to touch her but decided against it. Just because things had turned out differently didn't mean she had forgiven him.

"How about you?" he asked softly. "You okay?"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Virginia cried, surprising Tony. "We could've been crushed! A little warning would have been nice!"

"I was trying to save your life!" Tony yelled back, annoyed at the thanks he got. "You're welcome!"

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Why does your house even have this—this wall?"

"I told you. I own Stark Industries."

Virginia glared at him. "You keep saying that but I don't know what that is!"

"It used to be a weapons company but after my son was kidnapped by my double-dealing, backstabbing CEO, I turned the company around and it's now a tech conglomerate. Given the nature of what we used to do, my house has security measures."

"Security measures," Virginia repeated, starting to pace. "Security measures." She put her hands to her head and started to breath heavily.

"Please remain calm," said a voice that was distinctly British. "The police have been notified and are on their way.

Virginia whirled, looking everywhere. "Who the hell was that?"

"That's my butler Jarvis," said Tony simply. Peter had settled himself on top of the kitchen counter watching the entire scene with mirth in his eyes because now that he was safe, he definitely found this funny.

"I thought your butler's dead!"

"Oh, he is," Tony crossed his arms. "This one is my robot butler."

"A robot butler? Is this some kind of Terminator slash art heist movie? Can he see us right now?" Virginia looked all over the ceiling.

"Yes, he can see us and he just saved our lives. Good job, Jarvis."

"It is an honor, Sir," Jarvis replied.

"Show me the sitch on the kidnappers."

The TV in the kitchen flickered on and showed Number One currently trying to open the front door while Number Two was saying, "Shoot it! Shoot it!"

"ETA on the police, J?"

"Five minutes and thirty-two seconds."

Tony threw his hands up. "Great. While we wait, does anybody want some soda?"

Virginia shook her head at the absurdity of that question. "We almost died today!"

"I think that's an exaggeration."

"No. No, it's not! Because you don't understand! We almost died for a _painting_!" She marched at Tony and poked his chest. "What were you thinking? What if they called your bluff and killed us for lying?"

"Well, they didn't and we're safe. My plan worked."

"I was going to give up the _Mad Titan_ to save our lives. You could've let me—"

Tony grabbed her hand to stop her from poking him. "—give up the painting? I know how much of an art lover you are, Pepper. Giving it up to art thieves would've broken you and I didn't want them hurting anybody else inside the gallery. So, I thought I'd bring them here where Jarvis could deal with them. And honestly, I think what you need to say to me is 'I'm sorry.'"

Virginia gaped at him. "For what?"

"For accusing me of being a cheater! And also I'm gonna need a thank you. Something like 'Thank you, Tony, for saving my life and for not giving up that painting because it was actually the _Mad Titan _all along which is the three hundred year-old painting I've always wanted to see and now I can because it's not lost in the black market like I thought it was.'_"_

Virginia opened her mouth to retort but closed it. She looked at him for a moment, her expression softening, and then she said, "You remember all of that?"

"Yeah, I remember! Because you looked so sad talking about how it got stolen and you would probably never see it again in person, so I Googled it and by the way, the _Mad Titan _is hideous. The dude has a nut sack for a chin!"

Virginia tried to raise a finger but realized Tony still hadn't let go of her right hand. She took a step closer and raised her left index finger at him instead. "Don't insult the _Mad Titan. _It is a national treasure! The story behind that is a tragedy; he tried killing half of the universe in his pursuit of—hmm." She didn't get to finish because Tony had closed the gap between them and kissed her.

Virginia closed her eyes, her hand almost coming up to Tony's hair but stopped just an inch away, fingers curling from the effects of the kiss.

Tony slowly let her go and Virginia opened her eyes. "Thank you for saving my life," she whispered, "… and for saving the _Mad Titan._"

"You're welcome."

"And I'm sorry about last night." In hindsight, all of this felt a little too much like Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing. _"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions but could you blame me?"

"Actually, no. You told me about your ex, about the trust issues he left you with. I should have told you about Peter and about his mother from the beginning. You're right. It should've come up on the first date."

"So, what's gonna happen now?"

"Well, we're in the kitchen. We could do a do-over of last night." Tony took her other hand and said, "I can't make that casserole again, though, because it tasted awful, but I can do an okay sandwich."

Virginia chuckled. "I'd like that."

Tony leaned in to kiss her again but Peter's voice made them break apart.

"Wow," said the teenager, jumping off the counter. "I took a video of that whole thing and sent it to Uncle Rhodey. He said you guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna kiss your boss again so you better close your eyes if you don't want to see this, kid."

Peter sighed and turned his back to them, opening the fridge instead.

…

The _Mad Titan _was a painting of a wrinkly, purple-skinned, bald man with a ridged square jaw. It wasn't supposed to be frightening to look at but for some reason, the painting made Tony's skin crawl.

Online, it had looked like some ripe grape got a face but in real life, it was something else. The Mad Titan's cold calculating eyes seemed to follow Tony from every angle he stood and when Tony looked straight at it, his whole body would tingle with unease.

He understood now why people tried to steal it, why it was so famous, why Pepper was so in love with it. Tony would be seeing this dude in his dreams, he just knew.

Beside him, Pepper shivered. "It gives you the creeps, right? They always said it would. I didn't think it would happen to me, but I can feel goosebumps all over my skin." She showed Tony the hairs on her arm. "Do you see that?" She rubbed her arms. "God, the artist was a genius and I cannot believe we're the first ones to be seeing it!"

They had been granted the privilege to see it exclusively a day before the general public because they were the ones who recovered it.

Pepper wrapped a hand around his arm excitedly and looked up at him. Tony had a very somber expression on. She asked him, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about using up all my money to buy this painting and then burning it so I don't have to look at its creepy eyes ever again."

Pepper hit him softly on the chest.

"I'm kidding," Tony grinned. "Sort of. It's just really creepy, okay? I feel like bleaching my eyes."

"I have a better solution." Pepper steered them away from the painting. "How about I drive us to my place and I help you forget all about the creepy painting?"

Tony grinned at the underlying suggestion hidden in her tone. "Yeeaaahhh that could definitely work."

* * *

**A/N: ****For those of you waiting for an update of my Five Years With You series, you'll just have to wait for Pepperony Week this August. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
